Who is Jamini Roy?

Google is celebrating with a doodle the 130th birth anniversary of one of the big names in twentieth century Indian art, Jamini Roy.

About Jamini Roy:

He was an Indian painter. He was born on 11 April 1887 into a moderately prosperous family of landowners in Beliatore village of the Bankura district, West Bengal.

When he was sixteen he was sent to study at the Government College of Art, Kolkata. the founder of Bengal school was vice principal at the institution. He was taught to paint in the prevailing academic tradition drawing Classical nudes and painting in oils and in 1908 he received his Diploma in Fine Art.

However, he soon realised that he needed to draw inspiration, not from Western traditions, but from his own culture, and so he looked to the living folk and tribal art for inspiration.

He was most influenced by the Kalighat Pat (Kalighat painting), which was a style of art with bold sweeping brush-strokes.

Roy was a pupil of Abanindranath Tagore, the creator of ‘Indian Society of Oriental Art’.

His work, however, wasn’t limited to painting alone. His wooden sculptures, rooted in Indian villages, reflect the traditional art of Bengal. The quintessential ‘Jamini Roy’ work exhibits bold colours of red, yellow ochre, blue, and white.

Roy brought versatility and emotion to folk art. While a painting of a Santhal woman oozes sensuousness, the ‘Three Pujarinis’ are very traditional looking almond-eyed women.

Some of his other world-wide famous work includes, ‘Ramayana’ a magnum opus spread across 17 canvases; ‘Gopini and two Companions’; ‘Mother and Child’; ‘Bengali Woman’; and ‘Three men in boat’ .

Jamini Roy received many awards and accolades including the Padma Bhushan in 1955. In 1976, the Archaeological Society of India declared him one of “Nine Masters” to be treated as treasure.

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